After first saying he wanted to take more time, Montez Mathis made up his mind on Friday anyway.

The problem for UConn men’s basketball fans, however, is that the talented guard’s decision wasn’t exactly what they had hoped.

Mathis, a 6-foot-4 shooting guard from the Baltimore area who is rated among the 15th-best at that position in the Class of 2018 by one scouting service, announced Friday that he would be attending Rutgers, coached by Bristol native and St. Paul grad Steve Pikiell.

Mathis said via his social media accounts early Friday that he would be waiting to make his college choice - he was ultimately deciding between UConn, Rutgers and Virginia Tech - but later in the day committed to join Pikiell’s Scarlet Knights. Pikiell is a former UConn basketball player and one-time assistant coach of current UConn coach Kevin Ollie.

“Coach Pikiell and the coaching staff really built a great relationship with my parents,” Mathis told SNY Friday night. “I feel as though he’s going to turn the program around. I think we can be real good. We have three recruits in the 2018 class I think we’re going to be real good.”